But to Kloor, Bittman’s article was evidence that even mainstream foodies are accepting the “scientific consensus” regarding the safety and so-called merits of GMOs. Unfortunately, Kloor appears confused about the meaning of the word “consensus.”

Clearly, there is widespread disagreement within the scientific community on the safety of GMOs, but what’s interesting is the way in which the opinion is split. In contrast to the “no consensus” document, which is signed by independent scientists, the sign-on letter that supports Kloor’s version of “consensus” is largely supported by representatives from Monsanto, Pioneer, BASF and Syngenta, companies that stand to gain from public acceptance of GMOs.

Tim Schwab is a food researcher at Food and Water Watch. With a background in journalism, Tim worked as a reporter and as a researcher on a variety of projects before joining Food and Water Watch. He has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He can be reached at tschwab(at)fwwatch(dot)org.

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